2007-12-21 - 11:16 a.m. Christmas carol stats for this season so far: "Feliz Navidad" is the front-runner for favorite Xmas song this year due to the fact that a) it's a neat one and b) I have only heard it once so far "Christmas Wrapping" is way ahead of the pack, too, for the same reasons If I never hear "The Christmas Song"--no matter who is singing it--Nat King Cole, Boxcar Willie, your grandma--ever again, that will be totally ok. Sadly, "Rudolph" is suffering a similar fate, and I was still liking that one until recently. Have decided that the worst two offenses of caroldom are overexposure (see above) and doing trad carols in a rockin'-out kinda way. It just isn't necessary. "Jingle Bell Rock," while not guilty of the second offense because it started its life as a "rock" song, is guilty of just being insipid and grating. This is now my least favorite Xmas song. "Little Drummer Boy" is still my #1, but that song has been be-rocked more than any other, and its status is slipping. Like an early Christmas present, I discovered that Toni Tennille has a blog. And I learned this from the MySpace page of singer-songwriter Brad Laner, whose complex, knowing sunshine pop will certainly appeal to fans of Stephin Merritt, Curt Boettcher, and the Beach Boys. La Vie En Rose: starts strong, becomes problematic. During the first 20-30 minutes of this film, I was in heaven. Edith Piaf's childhood was so picturesquely awful, and presented here with such verve and color and sensitivity, that one has no choice but to melt. The scene where young Edith is taken to Lisieux to pray at St Theresa's grave is a marvel. The fondant of my heart began to unmelt back to room temperature as the story of Edith's adult life kicks in, and the trouble is largely that I couldn't cotton to the actress playing Edith. I suspect I'm in a minority here, but I found her acting style off-putting, full of weird mugging and grimacing and over-acting, especially in her scenes as the older Edith. I realize that the film is not supposed to be easy to watch, and my response is based in part on a mood that may have required nothing more challenging than watching Jack Bauer stalking terrorists, so if you haven't seen this yet, don't let my negativity dissuade you. Meanwhile, here's the real Edith. thoughts? (13 comments so far) previous - next blog archive contact